christmas to new year's eve

Looks like Santa came!!

The kids waited patiently (or continued sleeping until they were woken up!) until 8am and then continued waiting while the adults got a cup of coffee and I got breakfast in the oven.  At around 8:15 they were finally allowed to come downstairs and they were READY!!

Ellie was so excited to see her new playhouse and couldn't stop giggling and going in and out the door.

We always start with stockings and it is a bit of a free for all while we go through them.

It's so much more fun having family in town to celebrate with!

After the stockings, we do the presents from Santa and switch to doing one present at a time, from youngest to oldest.  And then it's time for breakfast!

After breakfast, we do the presents under the tree, still going one at a time-- it means that it takes a long time to get through all of the presents, but it also means that everyone can share in the fun of each and every present!  Ellie thought it was awesome that she got a penguin sleeping bag (even though she was with me when I bought it) and is already planning sleepovers with Hannah.

The kids draw names and do Secret Santa with one another-- Ellie drew Nick's name this year and he was shocked to get exactly what he wanted!

Lexie picked out a Lego set for Ben and he thought she did a great job!  We try and wrap presents in boxes that will be confusing for the recipient-- especially when the gift (a new weather station) is back home in Arizona and only a piece of paper gets unwrapped.  Ellie LOVED the bunny from the Gaubs and now calls it Hannah-bunny.

More presents!

And more presents!!  Ben picked out Monopoly: Electronic Banking Edition for Christopher and he was amazed that I finally agreed to get it (since the regular version is good for improving math skills and the electronic version offers no educational value).  I love how they intently watch each other open their presents!!

More presents!

And more presents!!

Grandpa thinks like Grandma and also wrapped (well, really, I wrapped, because I wrap ALL the presents) a box with a piece of paper in it because the real present (a new shower head) was back at home in Arizona!

Such exciting gifts!

More presents!!  Jacob was so surprised that I got him the Lego Disney castle this year!

More presents!  Grandpa always needs new Disney artwork for his office!!

Nearing the end :)

Grandma and Grandpa surprised the kids with Disneyland tickets for next summer!!  I think they love "experience" gifts even more than "stuff" and I know I do!!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas is talking to friends and family that can't be with us-- and it's even more fun when you can FaceTime (especially when it's Hannah!)!

We spent the rest of December enjoying our new toys, the adults got to go out on a date(!) since the grandparents were in town, and we got caught up on Fuller House!

And all too soon it was New Year's Eve and time to say goodbye to 2016 and hello to 2017!